This invention relates to firearms and more particularly to a magazine holder and a cycling holder, each allowing for quick and efficient cycling of a semi-automatic firearm with one hand.
Semi-automatic, or self-loading, firearms are firearms that perform all the steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after an initial firing, assuming that cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine. Typically, these steps include extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the weapon's firing chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism, and loading a new cartridge into the firing chamber. Although automatic weapons and selective firearms do the same tasks, semi-automatic firearms do not automatically fire an additional round until the trigger is released and re-pressed by the person firing the weapon. However, semi-automatic firearms still require the action to be cycled manually before the first shot and when a new magazine is inserted.
Considering a police officer who carries a semi-automatic firearm then under normal circumstances during the performance of their duties, the officer has free and full use of both hands for the drawing, loading, firing, unloading and clearing of their semi-automatic duty pistol. The training an officer receives on firearms handling and safety teaches them to load their pistol at the beginning of each duty shift. This involves removing the pistol from the duty holster, loading a magazine (sometimes called a clip) of ammunition into the pistol, cycling the pistol slide one time while using their primary hand (dominant hand) to hold the pistol grip then using their secondary hand to grip the sides of the pistol slide and move it in a rearward direction to manipulate a round out of the magazine and into the chamber or breach. This slide loading action can be accomplished using the secondary hand and either a “pinch grip”/“sling shot grip” at the rear end of the slide or an “overhand grip” over the top of the slide, behind the breach and pulling the slide mechanism rearward—then releasing the slide forward resulting in a chambered round and the pistol “in battery”. After the weapon is loaded for duty it is then placed back into the duty holster and secured.
If a weapon is drawn by the officer during the performance of their duties and is actually discharged, several things can occur. One, when the weapon functions properly, a round of the ammunition is fired and the projectile proceeds out of the muzzle of the weapon in the direction it is aimed at by the officer. The semi-automatic design of the pistol sends the slide back allowing another round to be chambered and ready to fire so long as there is ammunition in the properly seated magazine. Alternatively, there can be a problem such as the ammunition misfiring, or not firing, leaving an un-discharged round of ammunition in the chamber or breach of the weapon which must be cleared out before the weapon can be fired properly. This is referred to by terms such as “live trigger stoppage”, “phase one stoppage” and other terms indicating an unintended interruption of fire. To clear such a blockage, the officer must ensure the magazine is seated properly by tapping it with the support hand, cycle the slide of the weapon back to eject the non-fired round of ammunition and allow the weapon's action to load a fresh round of ammunition into the chamber or breach from the magazine. As described previously, this is a two-handed operation.
Another unintended interruption of fire that can occur is a “dead trigger stoppage”. This typically occurs when a round or casing fails to eject from the chamber due to faulty ammunition or a damaged extractor. A second round tries to feed into the chamber but is blocked by the initial round/casing that failed to eject. The pressure of the slide trying to fall forward into battery (but stopped by the “double feed”) seizes the pistol. As the extractor may not be able to properly grasp either round (the action can now only partially cycle), simply cycling the action will not clear the malfunction. A pistol in this state will not fire. In order to clear the pistol the magazine must be forcefully removed as pressure is holding the rounds in place. Ideally, the slide is placed in the locked back position releasing pressure on the double fed rounds. This allows the magazine to be stripped much easier. Once the magazine is stripped, the officer clears the port to ensure the chamber and magazine well are clear, then inserts a fresh magazine and cycles the action forward resulting in a fully loaded and ready (live round in chamber) pistol. Again, as described previously, this is a two-handed operation, if proper training regimens are followed.
At the end of the officer's duty shift, the service weapon must be unloaded, cleared and visually checked to ensure it is unloaded and then secured appropriately. This is a reversal of the loading process described above where the magazine is removed, the slide cycled to eject any round that might be in the chamber or breach, the slide locked in the open position, an inspection of the chamber/breach conducted to “prove” the weapon unloaded and safe and then the proper securing of the weapon in the holster or carrying case, as dictated by policy/local laws.
However, what does the officer do if their primary or secondary hand is injured, damaged, incapacitated or otherwise occupied in some way to make it impossible to use in the loading, firing, reloading and unloading of their weapon?
Injuries to the primary, or secondary hand of an officer can occur in many different ways including, but not limited to, a struggle with a suspect, a knife wound, a gunshot wound, having the hand stepped on, impacted with a weapon including sticks, rocks, bricks or fixed objects or slammed in between objects such as car doors or structure doors and their frames, among others. The officer's secondary hand can, in addition to be injured, be otherwise occupied during the performance of their duties while holding another object, including but not limited to, a flashlight, a baton, a pepper spray can, a riot shield or the handling of a service dog. They could also be holding down one suspect while another is still considered a threat or could also be shielding a member of the public while still encountering a continued threat from a suspect.
In these cases, current training regimens teach the officer to manipulate their weapon for loading using one hand only. Some police departments train for this situation, others do not. In cases where training is provided, the officer is shown techniques to cycle their weapon using techniques that are less than effective and involve fine motor skills, require improvisation and often deviate from police tactical principles, e.g. generally requiring the officer to become static. As many of these techniques involve less than ideal practices and are time consuming, e.g. many require the officer to seek cover first thereby completely removing them from the fight, no one tactic or system has become widely accepted in contrast to the two-handed manipulations drills.
Accordingly, when the situation arises where an officer must clear a weapon malfunction as described above when using only one hand, a whole new set of problems arise. There are essentially two main techniques taught for clearing malfunctions with one hand in North America. The first for “live trigger” stoppages requires the officer to find a surface of opportunity to ensure the magazine is seated properly then find a surface suitable to balance the front of the weapon (often the sight—leading to other issues) in order to cycle the action rearward. In the second, for “dead trigger” or double feed stoppages as described above, an officer must find a surface suitable to balance the front of the weapon (often the sight—leading to other issues) in order to cycle the action rearward and lock it in place. With the action open and pressure somewhat eased on the rounds in the chamber/breach, the officer must find a hard and sharp surface to strip the magazine from the pistol. This requires focus and thought as this is often a surface of opportunity. With the magazine stripped the officer must ensure the breach, chamber and magazine well are clear. The officer must then find a place to semi-secure the pistol in an improvised position of opportunity, typically behind a leg or partially in a holster as the action is still open. With the pistol semi-secure the officer must then retrieve and try to seat a magazine in the pistol. Only then, with a seated magazine can the officer grasp the pistol and send the slide forward to cycle a round into the chamber. Should the action/slide have cycled forward by accident during the manipulation prior to the seating of the magazine, the officer would be required to find a surface suitable to balance the front of the weapon in order to cycle the action rearward. Placing such pressure on the front sight can affect the alignment of the sights and greatly affect the ability of the pistol to be aimed properly. Pressure on the sight can also damage the front sights or post to a degree where the weapon cannot be aimed at all.
These prior art options involving one handed manipulations are time consuming and can take even a well-trained officer 35-45 seconds under range situations. This does not include the time it could take the officer to seek cover in order to complete these “static” tasks nor their trying to complete these actions whilst protecting an individual, holding a struggling individual, trying to stay under cover, etc. Under these circumstances and others where an officer was trying to complete the above clearing procedures one handed in a situation where they were under fire, involved in a hand to hand confrontation or injured, with stress levels at the highest possible levels, such a procedure could very well take considerably longer. Further, depending on variables such as surfaces in the immediate area, and no standard procedure, there is also limited guarantee of success.
Accordingly, the inventors have established a solution to address the problems associated with one handed manipulation of a service pistol. The “Taelin Tactical System” established by the inventors is based upon two components and their related inserts that form a complete “system” allowing for single handed loading, cycling, firing, clearing and unloading of hand held semi-automatic pistols. The system is adaptable to various types of semi-automatic pistols and other firearms.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.